Publications
Origin and diversification of a salamander sex pheromone system Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Exaptation as a Mechanism for Functional Reinforcement of an Animal Pheromone System Vrije Universiteit Brussel KU Leuven
Animal sex pheromone systems often exist as multicomponent signals [1–11] to which chemical cues have been added over evolutionary time. Little is known on why and how additional molecules become recruited and conserved in an already functional pheromone system. Here, we investigated the evolutionary trajectory of a series of 15 kDa proteins—termed persuasins—that were co-opted more recently alongside the ancient sodefrin precursor-like ...
Beyond sodefrin: evidence for a multi-component pheromone system in the model newt Cynops pyrrhogaster (Salamandridae). Vrije Universiteit Brussel KU Leuven
Divergence of species-specific protein sex pheromone blends in two related, nonhybridizing newts (Salamandridae) Vrije Universiteit Brussel KU Leuven
High pheromone diversity in the male cheek gland of the red-spotted newt Notophthalmus viridescens (Salamandridae) Vrije Universiteit Brussel
Male salamanders (Urodela) often make use of pheromones that are produced in sexually dimorphic glands to persuade the female into courtship and mating. The mental gland of lungless salamanders (Plethodontidae) and dorsal cloacal glands (or abdominal glands) of newts (Salamandridae) have been particularly well studied in that respect. In both families, sodefrin precursor-like factor (SPF) proteins have been identified as major ...
Side-by-side secretion of Late Palaeozoic diverged courtship pheromones in an aquatic salamander Vrije Universiteit Brussel KU Leuven
Love bites: male frogs (Plectrohyla, Hylidae) use teeth scratching to deliver sodefrin precursor-like factors to females during amplexus Vrije Universiteit Brussel Ghent University
BACKGROUND: Efficient transfer of chemical signals is important for successful mating in many animal species. Multiple evolutionary lineages of animals evolved direct sex pheromone transmission during traumatic mating-the wounding of the partner with specialized devices-which helps to avoid signal loss to the environment. Although such direct transmission modes of so-called allohormone pheromones are well-documented in invertebrates, they are ...